Magic Words & Symbols Spotted in the Wild

A 19th Century French Conjurer

This is a late 19th century French conjurer and his assistant.  The assistant’s horn is held by a cord that leads to the top of his helmet so that he can simultaneously play horn and fiddle while the conjurer flourishes cards.  We're not sure if the monkeys are officially part of the misdirection.  The sketch was taken from life near the Place de Carousel, and it appears as a tinted copper plate illustration in Manners & Customs of the French by a certain M. S. (1893).

Speak!

"The old woman continued to gaze at Setuli, and said three times in a loud voice, 'Speak!'" —Fairy Tales From South Africa (1908).  Illustration by W. Herbert Holloway.

A Chariot

This waterlogged Chariot appears in  Johnny Jordan and His Dog by Elizabeth Eiloart (1867).

The Single Word: Death

The single word: DEATH.  An illustration from The Autobiography of a Man-O'-War's Bell by C. R. Low, 1875.

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From Fun and Earnest; or, Rhymes with Reason by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson (1865).

Death Chooses a Traveling Companion

Death chooses a traveling companion, from Frank Leslie's Sunday Magazine, 1885.

A Solar King of Swords

An illustration from Luther's "September Bible," reproduced in Frank Leslie's Sunday Magazine, 1884.

The Real Secret of Magic

“The real secret of magic is that the world is made of words, and that if you know the words that the world is made of you can make of it whatever you wish.” —Terence McKenna

The Emperor Overlaps with Death

Death calls on the Emperor in this illustration from Puck, 1917.

Open Sesame

A woman leans her head against the truck of a tree and utters, "Open sesame!"  From London Society, 1874.

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Open Sesame